Sharpsburg, Maryland
Library of Congress
The placid façade of Main Street in the small town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, just a few days after the Battle of Antietam belies the conditions there: thousands of wounded soldiers crammed into homes and barns for miles around, buildings riddled with shot and shell, and the pall of death in the air. The fighting had produced some 22,000 casualties, making it (still) the bloodiest day in American military history. “I verily believe every door in town was broken open, and everything that could be eaten … consumed,” a Rebel soldier observed.
Photographer Alexander Gardner made this image as he looked toward the Potomac River out over the route of the Confederate withdrawal. Gardner’s photographer’s wagon (circled at center left) is visible, distinguishable by the tarp hanging from the back. He would tie that around his legs to keep out the light when he was preparing or developing glass plate negatives in the small darkroom area.
Bob Zeller is president of the nonprofit Center for Civil War Photography, which is devoted to collecting, preserving, and digitizing Civil War images.
